Kuwait Petroleum International (KPI) is in talks to buy 24% of the Bina joint venture refinery in central India, as the Middle East nation wants to increase its South Asian market share. BORL has plans to double its expanded refining capacity to 310,000 bpd and build a petrochemical project.
The 120,000-bpd Bina plant is operated by Bharat Oman Refineries Ltd (BORL), a 50-50 joint venture between Oman Oil Co and state-run Bharat Petroleum Corp. For Bina, the plan would be for BPCL to retain half of the refinery, while KPI and Oman Oil would share the remaining 50% stake, the Indian sources said.
BPCL has funded an expansion of the Bina refinery to 156,000 bpd that is to be completed later this year. Oman Oil did not invest in the upgrade.